Big GDS news

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Chuckling at those who defended the GDS micro campus for years and now say the $100 million upgrade is essential. Pity the grads who paid top dollar for inadequate facilities.

Players gotta play, haters gotta hate. There would be no GDS if Sidwell, StA, etc had admitted Jews and Blacks before the 50s....

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Will this set off an arms race among the independent schools? Will we someday see Sidwell Friends re-acquire the Fannie Mae site and consolidate its campuses on Wisconsin Avenue. Fannie has made noises for years about moving. I say "re-acquire" because I heard that SF S sold the property in the 1940s 0r 50s to an insurance company which later sold the property to Fannie. Later SFS had to acquire the Bethesda property for a lower school.

If this is an arms race, GDS just jumped from the level of Italy to the level of France. Still not a player in the campus arms race where Georgetown Prep remains the only superpower.

Landon and Potomac aren't doing too shabby in the campus department either. Prep certainly shines because of its golf course -- it truly is a school attached to a sportsplex.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only the GGW-Ward 3 Vision-developer lobby crowd is pushing for massively more retail and housing in Tenleytown. The same folks who thought it would be a great idea to give away part of the Janney schoolyard for a condo tower. There are plenty of opportunities to improve the streetscape in TT and have some more retail, starting with the Dominos lot by Whole Foods and the convenience/liquor stores on the south end that attract street crime. As far as a "viable" street grid, be careful of what you wish for. A true grid would only make it earlier for through traffic to bypass Wisconsin Avenue to seek shortcuts in the residential neighborhoods.

That's right - nobody needs or is buying additional housing right now - that demand is magically divined by the evil smart growth crowd.

The NIMBY's stayed away from the Safeway fight because the neighbors were by and large a reasonable and open minded group - it will be interesting to see what the NIMBY's do when that same group of neighbors realizes what a bad proposal this is for them.

The NIMBY's haven't been around to own the mess that Friendship Heights continues to be because of their stewardship so I'm sure they will step back here as well.

And WRT to TT - LOL - we should only improve one part of the streetscape huh? Of course if you are a NIMBY and just drive to Tenleytown that is the only piece you would be concerned with anyhow.

Thank God for the NIMBY's - if developers had their way, Wisconsin Ave would look like Rockville Pike

Huh - it does look like Rockville Pike! Lots of cars, surface parking lots, ugly low rise buildings, excessive curb cuts, dangerous pedestrian crossings at car oriented intersections, little residential density etc.

But your comparison is stupid - Wisconsin Avenue, despite also being the Rockville Pike, is governed by DC's zoning laws not Montgomery Counties so if the NIMBY's would get out of the way the Avenue would likely evolve to resemble other thriving parts of DC.

Like what? I think that Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park along Connecticut Avenue are pretty thriving neighborhoods, but methinks that isn't the "thriving" model that the Greater Greater Growthers have in mind.

[Anonymous]

The first thing that has to be done, before any school building or athletic facility is constructed, is to dig down three or four levels and construct a parking garage to handle the parking needs of the faculty, staff and students of the school as well as for visitors to the school. Put whatever you want on top of the garage, be it classrooms, offices, athletic or artistic facilities, whatever is needed. Right now, the Safeway provides as much parking for GDS as it does for its customers. GDS should take a cue from Sidwell and the Cathedral (Cathedral Schools) and free up the local streets for residential parking. This will be a good first step toward alleviating neighborhood concerns.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This also explains why they haven't spent a lot of $$$ upgrading the lower/middle school recently...

Palisades, get ready for a mega-development.

It depends on what the underlying zoning of the Palisades property is. If s likely single family residential in which the school got a special zoning exception to operate. A mega-development would require upzoning the parcel but that is unlikely to happen.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:GDS is a long way away from a master plan for the whole site, but the odds are that the Volvo dealership would become an entryway into the school and the Wisconsin Ave. frontage would be developed as commercial property to throw off revenue. The Safeway site alone is roughly the same size as the US campus, so there is plenty of room for an additional field plus LS and MS buildings. By buying both properties, GDS can ask for the closure of 42nd and Davenport Sts, adding significant square footage to the campus footprint.

From a school standpoint, it is pretty impressive that they had the cash available to make the purchase. I think our PTA has the resources to buy a single Volvo, not a whole dealership.

Yeah, this is what I'm guessing will happen. My kids don't go to GDS, but they have lots of friends who are current students and grads. In many ways, it's a great school, but the traffic at morning drop-off is scary. I hope the neighbors and ANC will push to ensure that the new construction includes a traffic plan that will be safe for students and neighbors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The first thing that has to be done, before any school building or athletic facility is constructed, is to dig down three or four levels and construct a parking garage to handle the parking needs of the faculty, staff and students of the school as well as for visitors to the school. Put whatever you want on top of the garage, be it classrooms, offices, athletic or artistic facilities, whatever is needed. Right now, the Safeway provides as much parking for GDS as it does for its customers. GDS should take a cue from Sidwell and the Cathedral (Cathedral Schools) and free up the local streets for residential parking. This will be a good first step toward alleviating neighborhood concerns.

+1. It's also likely to happen because the $40 million property is too valuable to be given over to lots of surface parking. This is the type of condition that the ANC should insist on when GDS goes for its approvals.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chuckling at those who defended the GDS micro campus for years and now say the $100 million upgrade is essential. Pity the grads who paid top dollar for inadequate facilities.

Players gotta play, haters gotta hate. There would be no GDS if Sidwell, StA, etc had admitted Jews and Blacks before the 50s....

Who is "hating on" whom now??

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's great that GDS may finally have a real private school campus.

Welcome to the 21st Century Grasshopper

Yup - a real private school campus for mostly suburban MD students who almost exclusively drive to the current school on a major commercial corridor that will forever kill any chance of revitalization of the Wisconsin Avenue corridor while costing DC tens of millions in annual property tax revenue. Oh and the campus will require closing a DC street to get its private feel.

Whatever about the geo origin of the students - you only have the ANCs and the neighborhood associations to blame for that blight. GDS didn't cause that - NIMBYs did.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only the GGW-Ward 3 Vision-developer lobby crowd is pushing for massively more retail and housing in Tenleytown. The same folks who thought it would be a great idea to give away part of the Janney schoolyard for a condo tower. There are plenty of opportunities to improve the streetscape in TT and have some more retail, starting with the Dominos lot by Whole Foods and the convenience/liquor stores on the south end that attract street crime. As far as a "viable" street grid, be careful of what you wish for. A true grid would only make it earlier for through traffic to bypass Wisconsin Avenue to seek shortcuts in the residential neighborhoods.

That's right - nobody needs or is buying additional housing right now - that demand is magically divined by the evil smart growth crowd.

The NIMBY's stayed away from the Safeway fight because the neighbors were by and large a reasonable and open minded group - it will be interesting to see what the NIMBY's do when that same group of neighbors realizes what a bad proposal this is for them.

The NIMBY's haven't been around to own the mess that Friendship Heights continues to be because of their stewardship so I'm sure they will step back here as well.

And WRT to TT - LOL - we should only improve one part of the streetscape huh? Of course if you are a NIMBY and just drive to Tenleytown that is the only piece you would be concerned with anyhow.

Thank God for the NIMBY's - if developers had their way, Wisconsin Ave would look like Rockville Pike

Huh - it does look like Rockville Pike! Lots of cars, surface parking lots, ugly low rise buildings, excessive curb cuts, dangerous pedestrian crossings at car oriented intersections, little residential density etc.

But your comparison is stupid - Wisconsin Avenue, despite also being the Rockville Pike, is governed by DC's zoning laws not Montgomery Counties so if the NIMBY's would get out of the way the Avenue would likely evolve to resemble other thriving parts of DC.

Like what? I think that Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park along Connecticut Avenue are pretty thriving neighborhoods, but methinks that isn't the "thriving" model that the Greater Greater Growthers have in mind.

You must not get out of the car much or be able to turn your head - Connecticut Avenue is lined with apartment buildings, some of which are up to 14 stories tall where they back into RCP, almost all of which are taller and denser than what Safeway had proposed for the now GDS site and most of those buildings are even older than the people fighting development in TT. And FWIW those buildings in most cases have no buffer to the adjacent SFH's.

So you prefer the Wisconsin or Connecticut Avenue model?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only the GGW-Ward 3 Vision-developer lobby crowd is pushing for massively more retail and housing in Tenleytown. The same folks who thought it would be a great idea to give away part of the Janney schoolyard for a condo tower. There are plenty of opportunities to improve the streetscape in TT and have some more retail, starting with the Dominos lot by Whole Foods and the convenience/liquor stores on the south end that attract street crime. As far as a "viable" street grid, be careful of what you wish for. A true grid would only make it earlier for through traffic to bypass Wisconsin Avenue to seek shortcuts in the residential neighborhoods.

That's right - nobody needs or is buying additional housing right now - that demand is magically divined by the evil smart growth crowd.

The NIMBY's stayed away from the Safeway fight because the neighbors were by and large a reasonable and open minded group - it will be interesting to see what the NIMBY's do when that same group of neighbors realizes what a bad proposal this is for them.

The NIMBY's haven't been around to own the mess that Friendship Heights continues to be because of their stewardship so I'm sure they will step back here as well.

And WRT to TT - LOL - we should only improve one part of the streetscape huh? Of course if you are a NIMBY and just drive to Tenleytown that is the only piece you would be concerned with anyhow.

Thank God for the NIMBY's - if developers had their way, Wisconsin Ave would look like Rockville Pike

Huh - it does look like Rockville Pike! Lots of cars, surface parking lots, ugly low rise buildings, excessive curb cuts, dangerous pedestrian crossings at car oriented intersections, little residential density etc.

But your comparison is stupid - Wisconsin Avenue, despite also being the Rockville Pike, is governed by DC's zoning laws not Montgomery Counties so if the NIMBY's would get out of the way the Avenue would likely evolve to resemble other thriving parts of DC.

Like what? I think that Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park along Connecticut Avenue are pretty thriving neighborhoods, but methinks that isn't the "thriving" model that the Greater Greater Growthers have in mind.

You must not get out of the car much or be able to turn your head - Connecticut Avenue is lined with apartment buildings, some of which are up to 14 stories tall where they back into RCP, almost all of which are taller and denser than what Safeway had proposed for the now GDS site and most of those buildings are even older than the people fighting development in TT. And FWIW those buildings in most cases have no buffer to the adjacent SFH's.

So you prefer the Wisconsin or Connecticut Avenue model?

The Connecticut Avenue"model" is kind of interesting if you know about Washington city planning, because it was planned with areas of apartment buildings, typically set back from the street with wide lawns, interspersed with districts of low-density retail (think Woodley, Cleveland Park, the area around Politics & Prose and Chevy Chase DC. Really dense "mixed-use" wasn't really part of the equation. The lawns and park-like setting for many of the apartments were so important, that they are considered part of the historic landmark if the buildings are landmarked (as the Kennedy-Warren, Broodmoor and many others are). You see a bit of the Connecticut Avenue "model" with McLean Gardens and the Fannie Mae properties, where buildings are set back with green space. Sidwell Friends and the new GDS campus do (or will) provide more green setback. So, yes, the traditional Connecticut Avenue template is certainly a good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chuckling at those who defended the GDS micro campus for years and now say the $100 million upgrade is essential. Pity the grads who paid top dollar for inadequate facilities.

Players gotta play, haters gotta hate. There would be no GDS if Sidwell, StA, etc had admitted Jews and Blacks before the 50s....

Who is "hating on" whom now??[/quot

Pointing out a fact is "hating on"?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Only the GGW-Ward 3 Vision-developer lobby crowd is pushing for massively more retail and housing in Tenleytown. The same folks who thought it would be a great idea to give away part of the Janney schoolyard for a condo tower. There are plenty of opportunities to improve the streetscape in TT and have some more retail, starting with the Dominos lot by Whole Foods and the convenience/liquor stores on the south end that attract street crime. As far as a "viable" street grid, be careful of what you wish for. A true grid would only make it earlier for through traffic to bypass Wisconsin Avenue to seek shortcuts in the residential neighborhoods.

That's right - nobody needs or is buying additional housing right now - that demand is magically divined by the evil smart growth crowd.

The NIMBY's stayed away from the Safeway fight because the neighbors were by and large a reasonable and open minded group - it will be interesting to see what the NIMBY's do when that same group of neighbors realizes what a bad proposal this is for them.

The NIMBY's haven't been around to own the mess that Friendship Heights continues to be because of their stewardship so I'm sure they will step back here as well.

And WRT to TT - LOL - we should only improve one part of the streetscape huh? Of course if you are a NIMBY and just drive to Tenleytown that is the only piece you would be concerned with anyhow.

Thank God for the NIMBY's - if developers had their way, Wisconsin Ave would look like Rockville Pike

Huh - it does look like Rockville Pike! Lots of cars, surface parking lots, ugly low rise buildings, excessive curb cuts, dangerous pedestrian crossings at car oriented intersections, little residential density etc.

But your comparison is stupid - Wisconsin Avenue, despite also being the Rockville Pike, is governed by DC's zoning laws not Montgomery Counties so if the NIMBY's would get out of the way the Avenue would likely evolve to resemble other thriving parts of DC.

Like what? I think that Chevy Chase and Cleveland Park along Connecticut Avenue are pretty thriving neighborhoods, but methinks that isn't the "thriving" model that the Greater Greater Growthers have in mind.

You must not get out of the car much or be able to turn your head - Connecticut Avenue is lined with apartment buildings, some of which are up to 14 stories tall where they back into RCP, almost all of which are taller and denser than what Safeway had proposed for the now GDS site and most of those buildings are even older than the people fighting development in TT. And FWIW those buildings in most cases have no buffer to the adjacent SFH's.

So you prefer the Wisconsin or Connecticut Avenue model?

The Connecticut Avenue"model" is kind of interesting if you know about Washington city planning, because it was planned with areas of apartment buildings, typically set back from the street with wide lawns, interspersed with districts of low-density retail (think Woodley, Cleveland Park, the area around Politics & Prose and Chevy Chase DC. Really dense "mixed-use" wasn't really part of the equation. The lawns and park-like setting for many of the apartments were so important, that they are considered part of the historic landmark if the buildings are landmarked (as the Kennedy-Warren, Broodmoor and many others are). You see a bit of the Connecticut Avenue "model" with McLean Gardens and the Fannie Mae properties, where buildings are set back with green space. Sidwell Friends and the new GDS campus do (or will) provide more green setback. So, yes, the traditional Connecticut Avenue template is certainly a good one.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it's great that GDS may finally have a real private school campus.

Welcome to the 21st Century Grasshopper

Yup - a real private school campus for mostly suburban MD students who almost exclusively drive to the current school on a major commercial corridor that will forever kill any chance of revitalization of the Wisconsin Avenue corridor while costing DC tens of millions in annual property tax revenue. Oh and the campus will require closing a DC street to get its private feel.

DC always lusts for more tax revenue, but frankly the District government needs more tax revenue the way a crack addict needs more crack. DC should address its "substance abuse" problem first -- the array of sweetheart business deals with Jeffrey Thompson are just the tip of the pay to play iceberg -- and get its fiscal and contracting house in order, before rubber-stamping ever more development in search of the almighty tax dollar.

Well, how about this then: Perhaps GDS should just pick up and move to Potomac, or perhaps Germantown. Frankly, I'm sick of all of the MD residents flooding their kids into DC every day anyway, without paying for use of our services.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Chuckling at those who defended the GDS micro campus for years and now say the $100 million upgrade is essential. Pity the grads who paid top dollar for inadequate facilities.

Players gotta play, haters gotta hate. There would be no GDS if Sidwell, StA, etc had admitted Jews and Blacks before the 50s....

Who is "hating on" whom now??[/quot

Pointing out a fact is "hating on"?

Is this how GDS became known informally as "JDS"?